The Decisive Strike
Stolen Heart The sky was painted with a mango-colored hue, the sun setting. This was the sign he'd been looking for, a sign to put actions into motion. A dense fog hovered over the swarm-ridden forest, obstructing the view of the surrounding area ever so slightly. Weeping willows draped over the swamp-ridden grounds as Takeo sat within a wooden shack, alone. Adjacent to him were several bodies lying on the floor in a corner, smoke exiting the mouths and chest cavities of the deceased shinobi. Pulling out his cellphone, the missing-nin pressed a single button, with a sequence of different tones following close behind. "Amai, it's time. Do you understand the orders I've given you?" Takeo asked the woman, his voice littered with hints of his usual malice. Within the quiet village of Sumigakure, a small civilization whose buildings were ornate with numerous etchings and various symbols, two individuals stood on the outskirts of the village, well concealed by the fog that concealed the moon's light. A dark-skinned woman, outfitted by a dark blue jumpsuit and a cloak veiling her body and face, answered the cellphone and listened to the ominous man across the line. "Of course, Takeo-dono!" The woman spoke with an odd degree of excitement considering where she stood at the moment. "Nanatsu-san~" She playfully spoke to the individual near her, who did not seem to reciprocrate the same sort of emotions. "We have been given our orders! Infiltrate Sumigakure, take control of the cannon, and destroy the village using the cannon! I do hope the sail doesn't run too smooth though...I would feel terrible if their lives were destroyed without even a hint of resistance, wouldn't you?" The woman that spoke these poisonous words laced with candy-like sweetness was none other than Amai, a former member of 's Anbu. Right now, she, and the man next to her, were operatives of Sadame, a terrorist organization that intended to destroy this world now reliant on technology, and bring Shinobi back to their greatest power once again. Today, the two would fire the sounds of war to the world for Sadame. But in that moment Nanatsu seemed unaware of such a grandiose scheme. He had been staring intensely at the village below them, which lay nestled in the recesses of a fog-cloaked forest. When she addressed him turned his head, slowly, and his unblinking eyes fixed on her for a moment. There was a click as a smaller indicator light activated next to his left eye, as if he were processing what she had just said. “The fog,” he began. “The fog decreases my level of accuracy. I can only shut down some of the village’s communication systems. I can’t target their weapons specifically.” While he spoke calmly, if Amai was watching him closely she would have seen that his fingers twitched constantly, as if barely containing a destructive tendency. “I’ll provide you with cover from here. You have eight minutes, probably” he stated matter-of-fact as he raised his hands. Two orbs of blue energy began to glow in the center of Nanatsu’s palms, and the air directly in front of him seemed to waver as he created a disturbance in the electromagnetic field surrounding them. Then, he clenched his hands into fists, emitting a pulse of barely visible energy that rippled through the air straight towards Sumigakure with a low, resonating boom. The lights at the edge of the village flickered out, drowned in silent darkness, but the pulse could not penetrate into the heart of the village due to the heavy mist. That was where the cannon was located anyway, and Nanatsu knew he couldn’t increase the strength or range of the electromagnetic pulse and risk accidentally disabling the weapon itself. As such, he had only shut down the detection barrier that protected the village’s outskirts. “Hurry,” Nanatsu hissed to his partner. He then turned his attention to the cell tower on the opposite side of the valley, and there was a soft, mechanical hum as he focused on concentrating his energy into a high-powered attack. This time he only raised one hand, and took a step back to brace himself. In the next instant, a beam of light shot from his palm, crossing the distance between him and the cell tower. It cut through the air above Amai’s head, piercing through the fog to form a curling white tunnel. For a moment the ghostly blue light shone down on her, as if illuminating the path to Sumigakure, then it flickered out. Its pale light seemed dim in comparison to the subsequent explosion. The cell tower vanished in an instant, disintegrating in a heat so intense that the flames pulled in towards each other, forming a tight, orange ball that swelled before bursting upwards into the night sky, lighting up the entire valley. The explosion would have served as the perfect distraction—drawing the attention of the village shinobi to the opposite side of Sumigakure and allowing Amai to enter quietly and unseen from the shadows. For his part, Nanatsu’s strode out to the edge of the rock outcropping that allowed him a bird’s eye view of the village and crouched down, his enhanced vision zooming in to sweep the area around Amai. He would provide her with long-ranged fire power, and so long as the shinobi from Sumigakure didn’t pin down the origin of the mysterious beams of explosive blue light, he would be able to provide her with perfect coverage. But using such a highly-focused power came at a mental cost, and as Nanatsu watched Amai he saw a faint figure trace alongside her. It was a girl of about seven years old, who ran with two pig-tails trailing behind her. She clutched a plush bear to her chest, and even from that distance he could see her wide, bright smile. “Nanatsu,” he whispered, as he felt a sudden pain in the back of his head that caused his vision to blur... The First Line Fūjiko’s eyes snapped open as a spike in Sumigakure’s ambient chakra sent her delicate senses into full alarm. She bolted upright, having dozed off at her desk while reviewing her fūinjutsu homework, and listened closely. Sure enough, she could hear a low, distant rumble—and she knew it wasn’t thunder. She rushed to the window and threw it open to lean out for a better view. The fog that filled the street beneath her glowed orange, and as Fūjiko lifted her gaze she saw the conflagration on the ridge opposite Sumigakure, and gasped. Sumigakure was under attack! Fuujiko reached for her cellphone and tried to dial her jōnin-sensei, but realized that she didn’t have a signal. Of course. The explosion had come from the direction of the village’s only cell tower. There was no way she could contact him now. Fūjiko clicked her tongue in irritation, but was undeterred by the technical malfunction. She could meet the rest of her team at their normal rendezvous point, assuming they had noticed the explosion as well. “Come on Yuki,” she told to the sugarglider perched on the shelf above her bed. It glided down before settling on her shoulder while Fūjiko pulled on her shoes with certain determination. There was a knot of nervous energy in her stomach, but Fūjiko’s heart was mostly racing due to excitement. Eager to test her skills in real combat, she secretly hoped that there would be a fight. At the same time, she felt a twinge of fear. Someone had invaded Sumigakure. The question though, was why? Fūjiko crouched low to the floor for a moment, then sprinted towards the open window and leaped through it, sailing into the air. She landed easily and gracefully on the pavement three stories below, and then took off towards the center of the village. As she ran, she formed a seal with one hand and extended her senses. The heavy fog was interfering with her abilities as a sensor-nin, but even then she could detect two distant, foreign points of chakra on the outskirts of the village. “Naegi-sensei!” she called out as she reached the fountain where Team Naegi tyically met. Mokichi was already there, and he nodded at her as she approached. “I’ve sensed two chakra presences near the village,” she explained, a bit breathlessly, to her jōnin instructor. He nodded. “It’s clear that someone intends to attack Sumigakure,” he said. “Intends to?” Mokichi contended, “Did you not notice the giant explosion just now? They’ve already attacked!” “Perhaps,” Naegi countered. “It could be a diversion,” Fūjiko suggested with a knowing smirk, and Mokichi glared at her. “Well still, shouldn’t we head to the cell tower to be sure?” “That’s likely where most people will be headed anyway,” Naegi explained, “But we have an advantage.” He turned to Fūjiko. “Can you sense where the attackers are now?” “They’re on the opposite side of the village,” she replied. “I could have told you that already.” “Then let’s move out,” Naegi said, leaving no room to argue. The three shinobi took to the rooftops, gliding above the mist as they hopped from building to building. Fuujiko kept close behind Naegi, and she suddenly reached out to grab him by the arm. “There,” she whispered and pointed towards a shadow darting through the fog. “Now where do you suppose she’s headed?” Mokichi muttered to no one in particular. “I’ll set up a barrier,” Naegi instructed as he pulled out a scroll. “You two confront her.” Fūjiko and Mokichi nodded, then they dropped down from the building and into the street—one in front of and one behind the supposed intruder. “Stop right there!” Fuujiko demanded. The intruder seemed to pause for a moment, but they were interrupted by a line of blue light that cut through the fog to pin-point the building where Naegi was positioned. Fuujiko frowned. What— The sudden explosion sent chunks of tile flying through the air, and a wall of pressure slammed into her before pushing her to the ground. By the time the ringing in Fuujiko’s ears cleared and she could see the flames from the skeletal remains of the building in front of her, the shadowy figure she and Mokichi had nearly cornered had vanished. Then, Fuujiko’s eyes widened with a sickening realization. “Naegi-sensei!” she screamed. "Ah...as usual, Nanatsu-san acts with such efficiency. I do feel kind of sorry for those who are killed by him. They don't even have the chance to reflect on their lives and fear the onslaught of death..." Once more, Amai spoke rose-like words with equally sharp thorns. While Nanatsu had provided cover in the form of his long-range attacks, Amai had snuck through the edge of the village and trailed across its perimeter in order to locate their target. Being a former operative of the Anbu, this was a natural part of her duties. Sliding like an eel, Amai went through the shadows cast by the periodic buildings in order to cover her tracks, minimizing the sound of her steps while avoiding drawing attention to herself. Of course, despite this efficiency, she could sense a strong killing intent approaching her figure. Licking her lips in satisfaction, Amai stood atop a telephone line while eagerly awaiting her opponent to show themselves. Hearing a loud explosion, Aku turned his head in shocked, his mouth slightly ajar as he looked in the general direction of the devastation. Seeing a glowing orange blaze in the distance as a thick smoke quickly rose into the air, he took a step forward before hopping atop a building, charging forward to investigate. The wind blew pass his face intensely as he rushed with all his might. "Are we being invaded?" he pondered as the thought of possibly calling for reinforcements crossed his mind. The large explosion was truly one that could not be ignored. In fact, if it were intended or not, it could be felt across the large land that was considered "Sumigakure". At the very center of the village was the "heart" the location that housed each of the people whom were considered the "leaders of the village". Currently, they'd been holding a meeting among the clan heads of the village, discussing the events with that unfolded with Kumogakure and their newly founded alliance. At the circular table was the head of the Shirugawa Clan--Reo Shirugawa. Head of the Zenji Clan--Touma Zenji. The lastly, the head of the Tenmou Clan--Yui Tenmou. In the midst of their conversation, they'd come to a halt because of the explosion. Reo stood to his feet and upon doing so, a shinobi instantly appeared by his side. "What was that?!" The clanhead asked, looking out the window of the building they met in only to see a dust cloud obstructing his view. "The village sir! It is under attack!" The jōnin shinobi reported, cause the other two clan heads to widen their eyes. Both stood to their feet, but Yui seemed to have been making her way towards the door. She cuffed her long brown brown hair behind her ear. "The barrier that was placed by Kashira was breached?" She opened the door with every muscle in her arm, removing it completely from its hinges. "Exactly where the hell are the elite shinobi?!" The jōnin hesitated a bit and dropped down to one knee, "They have all been dispatched to go and investigate the situation, Lady Yui. Whoever this is interrupted the signals from the tower, so we are sure this is a serious threat. Especially considering this is a relatively small village. I ask that you please stay inside until the issue's source has been found and or resolved." "You best be quiet there boy!" Touma shouted, finally breaking his own silence. He gripped his left wrist and his entire arm began to transform into a makeshift axe. A unique kekkei genkai belonging to the Zenji Clan: Kihenka. "I'd be damned if we sat around here while the village is under attack!" Rushing towards the window of the room, he utilized his axe-like arm to shatter the glass. "Yui, Reo, let's go!" Finally reaching the site of the explosion, Aku landed on the ground with a light tap as he looked to the right and left, scanning the area for potential intruders. Approaching the scorching inferno he took a few steps towards the building, before spotting a skeleton in front of the entrance, still covered within blazing flames. "Oh god..." his inner voice sounded off as he couldn't immediately identify the body. "We have casualties already... The question is, is this a distraction or did they attack this area for a specific reason..." he pondered, glancing around the area once more as he formed several head seals. Suddenly his muscular body appeared to liquefy as three water clones spawned from his being. Forming hand seals of their own, two of them blasted the house with water in an attempt to douse the flames and keep them from spreading to other parts of the surrounding area. While two clones took care of the fire, Aku and his third clone took to the rooftops of another building, further scanning the area for intruders. Coordinating his clone to provide a light source, it performed the Lightning Release: Lightning Illusion Flash of Lightning Pillar, producing light which illuminated the entire area they were near. Seeing a couple of figures obscured slightly by the darkness, Aku rushed towards them. "Who are you and what do you want with this village?" he stated, as he descended towards the ground, hopping from various buildings and trees towards his targets, his face displaying determination and slight frustration. Amai remained quiet atop the light pole, her eyes not once looking at the man who'd just approached her. She wasn't surprised she'd been found, especially considering she hadn't truly been trying to conceal herself. His determination and frustration meant nothing to her. If anything, it would be what would cause him his own defeat. "Now isn't the time for questions, Aku!" Touma shouted, gliding across the air above Aku headed directly towards Amaki with his arm still formed into an axe. With a straightforward attack, he managed to make contact with Amai's body, sending her flying to a nearby rooftop. He threw his axe-arm down to his side allowing it to transform back into the normal state. "If our village is attacked, we ask no questions, Aku. Prepare for battle against anyone who lifts a finger at Sumiga-." Touma's body was shrouded in electricity. Sparks jumped from his body paralyzing him and holding him stiffly in his place. The intruder's body broke down into electricity then disappeared. "All brawn, no brain." She stated, pulling a kunai with a thin piece of paper attached to it from her trenchcoat pocket and launched it at Touma. Once it got close to him she lifted her index finger and the tool exploded, engulfing Touma entirely and throwing his body a great distance away. "You better go and evacuate the village." Amai spoke to Aku as she lifted her hand into the air and dark clouds covered a small vicinity in the sky above, leaving the area where she and Aku were dark. There were sudden sounds of buzzing and thumping overtook the area, it were as if a being up in the sky had gotten angry with the events unfolding in the village. "Roger" Aku replied, dispelling his clones before taking to the rooftops with a great jump. Looking for survivors, he scanned the area, making sure no additional intruders were following him as he did so.